Thursday, April 22, 2010

our 1958 Metzendorf

Last Fall we bought a camper / caravan with the idea to do short weekend trips around the Fingerlakes and Adirondacks area with the two year old. Of course, it is a 1958, so there is some restoration / fixer upper involved. The biggest problem was a leak in the roof (some tried to fix that by putting a circular saw to the roof strip?!) we did not dare tackle ourselves but had local vintage camper expert Fletch from Fletchers Vintage Trailers out in Trumansburg fix up over the winter.

I found the camper listed on craiglist as a Hot Rod camper - whatever that means - in can be used right now condition. Of course, that was just a little exaggerated - leak in the roof, leak in the rear, one window frame almost pops out from the moldy warped plywood sheeting - but other than that in fine condition :-) Though I must say, by the time I got to the seller somewhere near Rochester I was ready to buy the thing and drive back, just so I would not have to drive all that again!

The camper seems to be built to sleep 5 people: one in the top bunk, two in the bottom bunk and two on the table/couch futon. This means that we do not have to alter anything for bed time, we can use the two bunks and be done with it! Most smaller Metzendorf campers - the ones that actually fit a standard garage - do not have the top bunk and that will of course be Simon's bed. We will have to come up with some sort of gate so he does not roll/fall/jump out.

The kitchen has a three pit propane stove and an ice box. And yes, it does look like a fridge but it's nothing more than a really well insulated cooler with a water drip to the outside! I'd never heard about these either, but apparently they work better than regular coolers which we'll be happy to find out. We might get a car fridge which plugs into the car battery via lighter if we need to. The camper also does not have a toilet / shower (it does have a small hanging closet) so an outside chemical toilet would probably not be amiss either for those midnight peepees!

About Suus

Welcome to my blog! I was born in the Netherlands and moved to the States in 1998 after a last minute wedding to my longtime companion Rolf. By way of Gainesville, FL and Pittsburgh, PA we ended up in the gorgeous Finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York.
Now we have our 5 acres of paradise we're turning more self sufficient each season; by growing our own greens and meats, by reusing and freecycling (yay craigslist!) and by learning from the locals.
My blog is all about my adventures, observations and learning curves in small scale Homesteading. Toss in an active animal loving toddler and daily life is never boring!

Disclaimer

This is a blog - what you read and see are personal thoughts, tips, projects & pictures. You are welcome to be inspired, but can not claim any responsibility on my part for your actions. And please, if you would like to use text or pictures from this blog, ask for permission first.